Sculpture Garden
21 Jun 2013 - 26 Apr 2014
SCULPTURE GARDEN
21 June 2013 - 26 April 2014
patio – scultura – basamento
Schwanzer – West – Zobernig
In order to mark the re-opening of the former Sculpture Court behind the Schwanzer Pavilion, the 21er Haus presents sculptures by Franz West on pedestals that have specially been developed by Heimo Zobernig and which enter into a dialogue with the building’s architecture. The pedestals, taking on artistic form, integrate with the structure of the Modernist pavilion and thus bring to the fore the relationship between art and architecture. In conjunction with the sculptures, the dimensions of the slabs, their materiality, and their spatial setting unfurl a complex spectrum of meaning that focuses on the correlation between architectural space, sculpture, and its form of presentation. West sought to establish a distinct and progressive concept of what makes a work of art that was based on performative elements and which increasingly led him to sculpture. Initially, he created the so called Passstücke or Adaptives, made of wire and plaster; in his later years, he arrived at brightly coloured and at times monumental shapes that may be interpreted as ironical comments on the art business on the one hand and seriously deal with the issue of proportion between sculpture, man, architecture, and the world on the other. Zobernig, having appropriated the base or pedestal as an artistic medium, has always directed his attention to the conditions under which art makes an appearance. By the simple device of flat pedestals (basamento) whose height he has adapted to that of the cornice of the basin, he has incorporated Karl Schwanzer’s meaning-laden architectural structure as a museum space (patio) into the presentation of Franz West’s works (scultura). His play with categories and the reversal of relationships in combination with West’s allusive art give us an idea of how to possibly deal with the sculpture garden’s past in the future.
The sculpture garden is closed when the weather conditions are severe.
21 June 2013 - 26 April 2014
patio – scultura – basamento
Schwanzer – West – Zobernig
In order to mark the re-opening of the former Sculpture Court behind the Schwanzer Pavilion, the 21er Haus presents sculptures by Franz West on pedestals that have specially been developed by Heimo Zobernig and which enter into a dialogue with the building’s architecture. The pedestals, taking on artistic form, integrate with the structure of the Modernist pavilion and thus bring to the fore the relationship between art and architecture. In conjunction with the sculptures, the dimensions of the slabs, their materiality, and their spatial setting unfurl a complex spectrum of meaning that focuses on the correlation between architectural space, sculpture, and its form of presentation. West sought to establish a distinct and progressive concept of what makes a work of art that was based on performative elements and which increasingly led him to sculpture. Initially, he created the so called Passstücke or Adaptives, made of wire and plaster; in his later years, he arrived at brightly coloured and at times monumental shapes that may be interpreted as ironical comments on the art business on the one hand and seriously deal with the issue of proportion between sculpture, man, architecture, and the world on the other. Zobernig, having appropriated the base or pedestal as an artistic medium, has always directed his attention to the conditions under which art makes an appearance. By the simple device of flat pedestals (basamento) whose height he has adapted to that of the cornice of the basin, he has incorporated Karl Schwanzer’s meaning-laden architectural structure as a museum space (patio) into the presentation of Franz West’s works (scultura). His play with categories and the reversal of relationships in combination with West’s allusive art give us an idea of how to possibly deal with the sculpture garden’s past in the future.
The sculpture garden is closed when the weather conditions are severe.